Fallen
by meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Summary: This is basically my attempt at Tempted. I changed the last bit of Hunted for it to make sense. im not very good at summaries, but please read! x.x.x
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: unfortunately I don't own the House of Night series ******

**When I finished reading hunted, I came up with a few ideas for what I think should happen in tempted. I re-wrote the last bit of Hunted to fit my ideas a bit better. **

**Zoey's POV**

"What is it you need us to do, Zoey?" Sister Mary Angela asked, but before I could answer, the roar of an engine pulled everyone's attention back to the bird – infested trees and the road beyond.

With growing fear I watched the big black hummer leave the road. Gunning its engine, the vehicle lurched down the ditch, then up on the other side.

"Sister, stay close to me." Aphrodite said as Erik and Darius stepped out of the way and the two of them moved into position beside me.

"I need Grandma." I said

"She's coming. Don't fear." Sister Mary Angels replied

Finally, the hummer rolled to a stop. The doors opened, and Kalona and Neferet stepped out. She was wearing an all – black floor sweeping dress with a neckline that plunged to expose the onyx winged pendant resting between her breasts. A dark aura pulsed around her, making her thick auburn hair lift and move around her shoulders.

"Holy shit." Aphrodite whispered.

"Yeah, I know." I said grimly

Kalona strode at her side. He was wearing black pants and nothing else. As he moved away from the vehicle with Neferet, his wings rustled and opened a little, showing just a hint of their magnificence.

"Oh blessed Mary!" Sister Mary Angela gasped.

"Don't look at his eyes!" I whispered to her. "He can have a hypnotic effect on people. Don't let him get to you. Think of goodness, and the virgin Mary and his darkness will not get to you."

Then the driver stepped out and joined Neferet and Kalona. It was Stark. His eyes found mine instantly, and ever so slightly, he bowed his head to me.

I heard Stevie Rae's quick breath of surprise and the movement of the red fledglings behind us.

"That's the kid that shot me, isn't it?" she said

"Yes." I whispered sadly. I hoped she wouldn't hold it against him.

"He's changed." Stevie Rae said "he's a red vampire."

"He's also a fucking rat." Aphrodite muttered, then hastily added "Sorry, Sister."

"Don't trust him Zoey." Darius muttered from behind me.

"I trust him. He swore a Warrior's Oath to me." I said "Now form a circle."

Instantly the twins and Damien moved out of the crowd behind me. They each walked to their places on the cement circle, and we were all indide the circle.

"You cannot maintain that circle for eternity." Kalona said as he walked towards our little group. "I, on the other hand, can maintain my pursuit of you for eternity, A-ya."

"For heaven's sake, I'm NOT you're A-ya! I am Zoey Redbird, High Priestess of the Tulsa House of Night!" I screamed furiously at him

"She's right." A voice whispered from behind me. I didn't recognise the voice.

Venus walked up from behind me, and I saw that her eyes were rolled back into her head, showing only the whites. "I am your A-ya!" When she said that, she began to glow gold with some kind of energy radiating from her, and she kept walking towards Kalona.

"Do you not recognise me?" She said. "Do you not see my marks, exactly like hers were?"

"Ohmygood_ness_!" Stevie Rae whispered from beside me in her familiar Okie twang "She's right! She's Changed!"

I then saw the new red marks that covered her face, and instead of a filled in crescent moon, there were the symbols for north, east, south and west in red. Somewhere on the rest of her body I knew there would be red marks representing above, below and spirit, just as Grandma's story said.

"But…she's not a vampire any more. There isn't a crescent moon on her anywhere." I pointed out, shocked. Nyx never took anything away.

"You're right!" Aphrodite said. "But what is she now? Maybe she's turned back to a human blessed by Nyx, just as I have!" and I could feel that she was happy that she was no longer the only human among us.

"What is this!" Neferet exclaimed from beside Kalona. "So Zoey is not you're A-ya then!"

"Yes she is." Kalona said. "Zoey IS my A-ya, and you are just trying to protect her." He said, with his seductive voice changing to have a harder edge.

"No, she's not." Venus said in a scary voice. It sounded hollow, but underneath that I could almost hear the voices of the five first Ghigua women.

"I am your A-ya." She said again. She walked over to him, and touched her hand to his bare chest.

Kalona's golden eyes went glassy, and it looked almost like he was looking at something far away but I knew that it was some type of vision.

Then his eyes focused again, and widened in shock. "A-ya." he said seductively "You have returned to me."

The Raven Mockers rustled the trees, like a sign that their father was speaking the truth.

"A-ya, you were made to love me." Kalona said

"Yes, I was." Venus replied, her voice normal again. "And I already do."

And then suddenly, the golden energy that she had been surrounded in exploded outward, and was so bright that I had to close my eyes, as it blocked everything else out.

When it returned to normal, I saw that Kalona looked happy. But I knew he wasn't really happy, but just pleased that he had finally gotten what he came for. And I could feel that he was stronger.

"So…does that mean Zoey is no longer important to you?" Neferet asked, and evil edge to her voice.

"No, she is not. I realise that I only recognised her as the leader of the Ghigua women." He said, and his faced twisted in hate and his eyes turned cold as he looked at me. I realised then, that maybe it was better when he thought I was A-ya.

He laughed, but it was a cold laugh. I knew then that even with Venus as his A-ya, he would still always be evil. And that unless he truly learned to love, we would need to banish him. And I realised that I had always thought deep down that we would be able to save the beautiful angel, that he would be a true angel again. And I knew that I had to make him run now, or he would destroy everything with his new power.

"_Don't worry, Zoey. You can do it._" A silky voice whispered in my head, and I knew that even though it would be hard, I would be able to do it with the help of me friends and Nyx.

"You may have stronger power now you have your A-ya, but we are still stronger that you. And with Nyx's power of good and light and love, we will banish you. Unless you choose to leave now. And take Neferet and Venus with you. " I said loudly and confidently and I knew that we would be able to do it.

"Venus? So my A-ya is also the goddess of love…" He said, and he smiled seductively at her.

"Yes, I am. Never forget that I love you, Kalona my angel." Venus said

"I don't think I will leave. I find that I like Tulsa very much." He said and his face almost entranced me with his charming smile.

"Then remember that you brought this upon yourself." I said, then spoke to the women beside me. "The poem said: joined not to conquer, but to overcome."

"You see Zoey? You can not defeat me. Even your goddess says so." Neferet said, and the darkness began to radiate around her and grow in power as the touches Kalona, almost like she was absorbing darkness from him.

I continued and ignored her. But I knew that whatever we did, we had to do it now.

"I'm Night. I've led you to Sister Mary Angela, so she's Spirit. Stevie Rae, you're Blood. Aphrodite, you're Humanity.

"What are they doing? You think you can defeat us?" she said and her voice sounded amused.

"Yes we can. I know we can." I said

Kalona laughed. "Foolish Ghigua woman. You know deep down that your little circle is no match for our dark power."

"And earth completes." I said, and we all held hands.

"Stark! Kill her. No mistakes this time. Aim for her heart." Neferet commanded, and as she spoke the darkness slithered from the shadows behind around her. Stretching over to Stark, I watched them wrap around his ankles and begin to move up his body. I saw the struggle that was going on within Stark. Neferet's dark power could still affect him. Was his Warrior's Oath to me enough to break that hold? I'd decided to trust him. Had that been a stupid mistake?

Neferet's hair was whipping around her. She was watching Kalona and Venus with jealousy, and I knew that she was not happy to share her angel with Venus.

She whirled around and turned to face Stark. "By the power with which I awakened you, I command you hit the mark and shoot Zoey through her heart!"

I was staring at Stark, trying to will him to choose good – to keep choosing good and to turn from Neferet and darkness, so I saw the exact moment he understood his way out. As if he and I were back in the little room behind the field house again, I heard myself saying to him, _You have my heart… _and then his response; _Then both of us better stay safe. A heart's a hard this to live without…_

"That's what my aim won't miss." Stark spoke across the icy distance to me as if he and I were alone "The part of the lady's heart that I hold as my own.

The shadows that had gripped his body were instantly washed from him as he made his decision.

And with a rush of panic I understood what he was going to do. Aiming straight at me, he drew the bow and shot.

As he let loose the arrow, I cried "Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Spirit! Hear me! Do not let that arrow touch him!" I flung my power out towards Stark, channelling all five of the elements.

The arrow did a weirs shimmer, and suddenly it was not heading on my direction, but speeding back towards Stark's heart. It was mere inched from his chest when the elements blasted it, disintegrating it with such force the Stark was thrown back and lay crumpled, but not skewered on the ground.

"You bitch whelp!" Neferet shrieked "You're not going to win this!"

Ignoring her, I turned to grandma and repeated "And Earth completes."

We all held hands, and together we faced the new power of Kalona with his love, and Neferet.

"Don't curse them. He is all too familiar with darkness and anger and curses.

"A blessing." Stevie Rae said.

"Yeah, people filled with hate don't know how to handle love." Aphrodite said from bedside me , and doing her best bitchy hair toss.

"Bless him Grandma, we'll join you." I said

Then my Grandma's voice rang out, and she said

"Kalona, my u-do." She said using the Cherokee word for brother.

"This is my blessing to you:"

"May the warm winds of heaven blow softly on your home."

"I always thought that heaven was a very boring place." He said, and chuckled humourlessly

"And the great spirit bless all who enter there" she said, ignoring him.

"There is no great spirit. Kalona is the most powerful god known to this earth." Neferet said mockingly

"May your moccasins make happy tracks in many snows"

And we all repeated after her

"And may the rainbow always touch your shoulder…"

Nothing happened. Kalona stayed exactly where he was, with Venus in his arms. She already adored him.

And Neferet didn't move. She only laughed at us.

"And you think your blessing would hurt us?" Kalona said mockingly "Unless you've forgotten, I have love now. Your love cannot hurt us any more. True, it may have banished us before I had A-ya, but not now." He said, and closed his beautiful wings over Venus' body as she embraced him.

"Now, I leave here because I choose to. Because I want my A-ya." He said.

He then took Neferet in one arm, and Venus in the other, and flapped his wings hard. He took off into the sky, and I knew he was probably going to take Venus' virginity. If she hadn't lost it already, ho that she was.

I looked at Grandma.

"We're going to have to find another way to defeat him. What Kalona said was true, the poem only worked when love was horrible to him. Now he has Venus, and love will not be an effective weapon against him." I said grimly

"Well, I guess we're going to have to find another way to defeat him then." Aphrodite said.

**Please tell me what you thought of that, and if you think I should continue. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Stark" was all I said, as I rushed over to him to see how bad his wound was.

It looked really painful... even though he hadn't been impaled by his own arrow, the forces of wind, water, earth, fire and spirit had definitely wounded him fairly badly. There was u huge burn mark all over his chest, and blisters.

"Oh god. I'm so sorry." I said, as he lay crumpled on the floor.

"Don't worry, my lady. I'll survive." He said bravely, but i knew he was in pain.

"Come on guys. We really need to get back now." Stevie Rae said in her Okie twang.

"What? Back to the House of Night?" Shaunee said

"I don't think so, twin!" Erin said, like she was reading her twin's mind.

"I think we should go back to the tunnels. It's safe there." Damien said.

"I'm not sure guys. I still have a really bad feeling about the tunnels." I said, and i knew that Nyx was warning me by giving me this deep feeling of unrest.

I knew that it was safe from Kalona, but he could still enter my dreams and there was nothing stopping Neferet from going down there. But it had improved a lot, and it was definitely safer than the House of Night. We had no other choice.

"But let's go. Just remember, there's something that's just not right down there." I said, and saw Stevie Rae chewing nervously on her lip. She was hiding something from me. But i trusted her, so i just had to trust in her better judgement and hope that whatever it was that she was hiding, wasn't going to be dangerous.

"U-we-tsi-a-ge-ya, do you mind if i come down to the tunnels with you?" Grandma asked in a soothing voice from behind me.

"Of course not, Grandma. I'm sure we'll benefit from your knowledge of the Cherokee legends and everything you know about rituals and herbs." I said, glad that she was coming.

I always felt safe around grandma, and i knew i could always trust her. And everything about her felt homely, and i knew that it would be better in the tunnels with her around.

"How are we gonna get back?" Jack asked, and i knew that he was desperate to get back to Duchess.

"Yeah, the tunnels are far away. And im sure Kalona is going to be watching us with his creepy man – bird sons." Aphrodite said

"Blech. Those things are so creepy! You wouldn't believe that something so ugly came from such a beautiful father..." Kramisha, the poet laureate, said from behind me.

"True." Shaunee said

"So true." Erin said from beside her.

"Sister Mary Angela, would you like to come to the tunnels with us? It's probably safer than up here..." I offered.

"No darling, i think i will stay here with the rest of the nuns and take care of the cats." She said, in a motherly voice. If i didn't have my grandma, she would definitely be my second choice for a grandma.

"Well, take care then." I replied.

Even though i was a fledgling and the cold didn't get to me as much, i was freezing. I knew that was because this was a different kind of storm than ever before, a storm made by darkness and evil.

The raven mockers looked at us with their strange human eyes from their perches in the frozen trees. It unsettled me deeply, knowing that we were constantly being spied on.

"We need to get back there quickly. Something feels really bad up here." Aphrodite said, and i totally agreed with her.

"How are we gonna do it? Everything's frozen, and i don't think we can take the horses. We'll have nowhere to keep them." Stevie Rae pointed out

"Don't worry, we will take care of the horses for you." Sister Mary Angela assured us, and the nuns behind her nodded in agreement.

"Thank you. But we have no way to get there..." i trailed off.

"I guess we have no other choice but to walk." Erik said, and i knew he was right.

"Stark..." I said. By the looks of his injuries, he wouldn't be able to walk far.

"Don't worry priestess, i will carry him." Darius offered, and picked him up.

"Well, lets go then." I said, and sighed. It was a long walk, and i really wasn't in the mood for it.

"I'll make sure theres no ice or snow in the way." Shaunee said, and she let a column of flame shoot from her fingers and melt all the snow in our way instantly.

"Thanks, Shaunee." Stevie Rae said sweetly.

"No problem!" She said cheerily.

"We really need to find a way to get rid of Neferet and Kalona." Erik said, as he put his arm around my waist.

I didn't know what to do. I know he was meant to be my boyfriend, but i couldn't take his whole jealousy thing. And Stark... he watched us and he looked really sad. I'd been with him for less than an hour and i'd already hurt him really badly.

I figured i'd sort it out later. I already had enough on my mind and i was really tired.

The town creeped me out. It was so strange, seeing everything silent and covered in snow. Everything was so silent.

"I know. But i can't really deal with that right now. We have to make sure we're all safe first." I said

"I'm really tired." Stevie Rae said

"Yeah, me too." Shaunee said

"Ditto, twin." Erin said, and the twins shared a cheeky grin. It really freaked me out sometimes actually.

"How many times do i have to say this?! DIE DORKAMESE TWINS!!!" Aphrodite shouted, but the smile on her face showed that she didn't really mean it.

We walked for about half an hour through the deserted streets of Tulsa. Everything was silent, and darkness hung in the air like mist.

"Well, we're back now." Stevie Rae sad cheerily, and climed into the tunnel. I followed her in to the tunnels, and i felt deeply uneasy.

**So what did you think of that? Please PLEASE review and tell me!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I walked straight to my bed, and i was about to go to sleep when Darius shouted for me and the circle, and i realized i had forgotten completely about Stark.

We all ran to Darius' room, where Stark was lying on the bed. His face was pale and his eyes were unfocused, and it looked like we would have to heal him pretty fast, or his wound could well be just as damaging as the arrow that was going to hit him.

"Ok, we need to get this done quickly. He's getting weaker by the minute." Darius said, as always completely focused on the task he had to do.

"Well, what do you want us to do?" Damien asked

"I think you have to make a circle around him. And then recite something, to reverse the damage." Darius ordered

"Ask grandma. She probably as some kind of healing herb as well." I said, and immediately one of the red fledglings ran to the room grandma was staying in.

A few minutes later she came in her wheelchair looking really battered, holding a smudge stick with lavender (of course) and a plant i didn't recognize.

"Grandma, what's that other plant?" i asked. I loved it that even though she was completely beaten up by the car accident, she still always wanted to help.

"This is a plant commonly found in the south coast of France, well renowned for its healing properties. I also added a bit of rosemary, because it is used for spiritual healing." Grandma replied, and i set fire to the stick, then used wind to blow it out and waft the sweet smoke around the room.

"Darius, i don't know a healing ritual! What am i going to say?" i asked, because i didn't want to mess up on Stark. I realized now that he was on the brink of death, just how much he already meant to me.

He looked even worse already. All the colour had drained from his face, and he was sweating heavily. It reminded me way too much of when Stevie Rae had an arrow through her. Which could also easily have happened to him. And i knew that my best friend and my maybe-boyfriend had both almost been killed on Neferet's orders.

And i realized that the most important thing was to kill Neferet. Kalona wasn't nearly as bad as the Queen Tsi Sgili, who could murder with her mind.

"Ok we have to do this quickly. Theres no time to waste." I said, and quickly they formed a circle around the bed he was lying on.

"Air, please join our circle." I said, and a rush of wind whipped up my hair and i smiled reassuringly at Damien.

"Fire, please join our circle." I said to Shaunee, and as usual the candle lit itself, and the room was filled with a comforting wamth.

"Water, please join our circle." I said and grinned at Erin, as we both felt a wave crashing over our heads

"Earth, please join our circle." I said and Stevie Rae and i were both in a green meadow, birds cheeping overhead.

"Spirit, please join our circle." I said, and then i felt my spirit lift inside me like tiny wings.

And suddenly, a flash of inspiration came to me and i knew the exact words i needed to say, ad sent a silent prayer thanking Nyx. I knew she got it when i felt my spirit flutter again inside me.

"_Air blow away, and reverse what you've done Fire burn away, and reverse what you've done Water wash away, and reverse what you've done Earth help us sustain, and reverse what you've done Spirit help us heal, and reverse what you've done."_

And then miraculously the burns and blisters disappeared, leaving only the slight dent where the arrow had managed to touch his body. He sat up and yawned.

Then an arrow shot from an invisible bow, and landed exactly where his heart had just been when he was lying down seconds ago

I gasped in surprise. To think that if he hadn't just sat up...

"Oh god. That was way too close." I said, still taking in shaky breaths from the shock that he had almost died again. And then very scraed about what had shot that arrow.

"Where the hell did that arrow come from!" Damien said

"I think when you asked the elements to reverse everything, it literally meant everything. As well as destroying the arrow." Stevie Rae said

"You know what? Im pretty sure you're right." I said, relief washing over me. It wasn't Neferet who had some creepy arrow control thing.

"Well, im gonna go and get some sleep. Im really tired." Shaunee said

"Ditto, twin!" Erin replied, and they walked off into the tunnels to their rooms.

"Well Stevie Rae? Are you coming to our room?" I asked

"Definatly." Stevie Rae replied, and with her i walked to our room.

**Stark POV**

"Ugh i still feel really tired." I tried to say, but for some reason my voice wasn't working.

"That really doesn't surprise me." Darius said, and laughed a little

"You got almost got killed by your own arrow, but instead got a full on assault from all five of the elements." He said

"Ok, this might hut a bit." Darius said as he pressed an alcohol wipe to the wound.

"OWWWWW!" I shouted, as the alcohol stinged the hole in my chest.

"Well, i guess it could have been much worse if Zoey hadn't saved me." I said, and realized just how lucky i had actually been.

"Are you going to stay in this room with me?" Darius asked

"Well, i guess i will!" I said, feeling cheery again. Someone had taken me in.

"I have to warn you about being a warrior. It definatly has its risks." He said, completely serious now.

"I know." I replied

"No, more than just that you might get hurt. But you swore an oath to her that you would never hurt her. So if you lose a grip on your humanity and hurt her..." He said

"Then what?" I asked

"That means you would be breaking an oath to Nyx, and you would instantly disintegrate." He said

"Disintegrate?" I asked, completely at loss

"Yes. Nyx is very gifted, and she gives a part of her own gifts to everyone. And you would get the full force on you of what happened to that arrow." He said

"Oh... i see what you mean." I said. I definitely didn't want that to happen to me.

"I guess i have no other choice but to keep my oath and hang on to my humanity then." I said

"You definitely don't. Do you now see the seriousness of what you swore?" He said

"Yes i do, and i promise to keep that oath." I said. I knew i would be able to do it.

"Good. Now i think we'd better go to sleep then." He said, and i was asleep the second my head hit the pillow.

**Please tell me what you thought of that! And also tell me anything you think i should improve on or any ideas you have for what should happen. Love you all, and PLEASE review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning/night at 11:00. I was defiantly very tired last night, and not just because i had to fight Kalona and Neferet. I couldn't even remember how i got to bed.

"Oh, thank god you're AWAKE! That took forever!" Stevie Rae said

"Well, i was tired! I mean, i had to fight Kalona and Neferet and lost as well!" i replied, still not really awake

"Well, i had to lie really still for ages so i wouldn't wake you up." Stevie Rae said

"Aw, honey! You really didn't have to do that! I really wouldn't have minded if youd just woken me up." I said.

And then i forgave her for whatever she was hiding from us, because i knew she only wanted to help other people.

"Well, grandma says she wants all of us in the living room soon, cos she wants to do a ritual or something." Stevie Rae informed me, and we ran to the living room. I didn't want to be late.

"Well everyone, it's the full moon today. And even though we don't have a temple, we do have candles and i think we should do a ritual to thank Nyx for everythinig she's helped you with." Said Grandma

"I think that's a really good idea. Damien?" i asked

"Yes. I think we should definitely continue all our normal rituals and things like that, even though we're not at school." He said, very professor – like.

"I'm in." Shaunee said

"Me too, twin!" Erin said

"Yeah, i think thats a good idea!" Stevie Rae said

"I think, since we're a whole new coven, we should definatly have our own rituals. We already have a poet laureate!" Jack said, and smiled at Kramisha

"You know that as the poet laureate you have to introduce me with a poem to every ritual." I said to Kramisha

"Oh. I didn't know that. I don't have a poem right now, sorry." She said sheepishly

"It really doesn't matter. Just as long as you remember to write one for next time." I said, and she nodded.

"Well everybody, we need to get this set up. We need blood, wine, offerings for Nyx, and our coloured candles." Aphrodite ordered, and everybody got to work.

"I'll get the wine from Venus' room." Aphrodite said

"Sure, i'll go get the blood."

"Yep, i'll help you get that table over there."

"Want help with getting that food on the table?"

And while everyone was busy, i sat down on a big armchair. I felt someone sit down next to me. I turned round, and to my surprise found Stark.

"What are you doing here!" i said sharply, and then immediately regretted it. I really didn't want him to go.

"Well, you know that you need protecting all the time, so i guess i'll just have to stay with you all the time. Just in case, of course." He said, and then grinned at me

"Well, i guess you never know when danger is going to come!" i replied, and grinned back. I was relieved that he wasn't offended or something.

He slowly snaked his arm around my waist, and i began to feel really guilty. Even though i really liked him and there was definitely chemistry, i was meant to be going out with Erik and i really didn't want to hurt him again.

"Stark..." I trailed off. I really didn't want to hurt Stark either.

"I know, i know. You're meant to be with Erik. But you always look really uncomfortable with him." He pointed out.

"No i don't!" I said, then I realized what he said was true. It did feel really weird being with Erik.

I think it was just that he was always being jealous and protective, and i didn't want to hurt him by being with someone else. But i knew that there had to be something missing with him, for me to always want to be with other guys as well. If he had everything i needed, i figured that i wouldn't want to be with Stark so badly.

"Actually... I think you're right." I said

"I'm always right, baby!" He said, and grinned cheekily

I didn't know what to do.

"Look. It's not that i don't like you. I mean, i really really like you. It's just that, i need to figure this out with Erik before i can do anything with you. Do you see where i'm going?" i said

"I see exactly where you're going." He said, and smiled sadly at me.

I felt really really bad now. I needed to break up with Erik, but i had so much on my mind already...

"Thanks, Stark. You know you're the best, don't ya?" I said

"When you say stuff like that to me, then i know that i can keep my oath. You make me feel like i can do anything. And even if you never want to be with me, I'll always be open, and i'll always be your friend." He said

I got really choked up there. And i made it even worse cos i knew i had hurt him really badly.

"Thanks, Stark. Come on, we really need to get this thing going." I said, and he sprung up beside me to help me get the circle ready.

"OK everybody, let's begin." I said, and Damien, the Twins and Stevie Rae all got into their places.

"Air, we need you from our first breath to our last. We ask you to join out circle." I said, and then the whole room was filled with a mini tornado. All the red fledglings who had never seen one of our rituals stared in wonder.

"Fire, you warm us when we need it most. We ask you to join our circle." I said, and the entire room was filled with a gentle warmth.

"Water, you cool us and calm us. We ask you to join our circle." I said, and the whole room felt like it was encompassed in a giant wave

"Earth, you nurture us and sustain us. We ask you to join our circle." I said, and the whole room was a forest, thick with pine trees and the delicious smell wafting around the room.

"Spirit, you strengthen us and make us brave. We ask you to join our circle." I said, and i felt my spirit soar inside me.

"In this full moon, we have fought against terrible powers of evil. We lost, but don't let that discourage you. We will beat them, and Nyx will help us. Don't lose faith." I said, then walked round the circle again and turned out all the candles.

"I would like to warn you about the queen Tsi Sgili, Neferet." Grandma said

"That's a good idea. You know most about the Cherokee legends, and the more we know about her the easier she will be to defeat." I said

"Well, first of all, they have amazing powers of the mind. They can kill with just their minds, and they can also play tricks on other people. Make you see things that aren't there, plant false ideas in your head. People with an affinity for an element will be less at risk to this, because the elements are very powerful and can help block her from your head." She said

"And also, never underestimate what kind of dark evils she can conjure. She is their Queen, and she is the most dangerous thing in the planet at the moment. It is far more important to destroy Neferet than Kalona. If it ever comes to a point where you can choose only one, choose Neferet." She said

"But...Kalona is a fallen angel! He's far more powerful , isn't he?" Stevie Rae said, confused.

"Yes he is. But he cannot kill the way Neferet can, and you have to remember that you must kill Neferet first." She said, and i remembered. I was sure i would rather kill Neferet, because it would be much harder to kill Kalona, his perfect face and body...

"Has everyone remembered that?" Grandma asked

We heard a chorus of yeses.

"Well, i think that concludes the ritual then. Everyone should go to their rooms and relax a bit. It was a very stressful day yesterday, and i think we all deserve to relax a bit." I said, and immediately walked back to the room i shared with Stevie Rae.

I loved sharing a room with Stevie Rae again, but it was very small and i figured it was time to get a room of my own.

**Please please tell me whether you thinks Zoey shoud stay with Erik or leave him for Stark, cos i really don't know what to do! Love you all and PLEASE REVIEW! **


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Haha this is definatly the best movie we have!" Stark said

"Yeah, well, it's also the only movie we've have." I said

"Well... yeah." Stark said

"Seriously, we need to somehow get into that school." Shaunee said

"defo, twin. I want my stilettos." Erin agreed

"Yeah, and what if we need to get into the library or something if we need to know about something." I pointed out

"i mean, i hate school and all, but we seriously need to be able to get back in there." Aphrodite said

"What if we need to talk to Lenobia or Dragon or something?" Damien said

"Ok, we're all agreed, we need to be able to get in there safely and quickly." I said

"Well, we can always do the whole covered by night thing." Jack suggested, and Damien put his arm around him. They were just too cute sometimes.

"Yeah, but its really draining and Neferet can kind of... sense us, if you know what i mean." I said. It was kinda creepy how she knew you were there, even if night was covering you.

"Hmmmm i guess..." Stevie Rae agreed

"Ok, can we just stop thinking about this now? Its kinda depressing me, how all we talk about is Kalona and Neferet and the whole, you know, everything will die and the world will be taken over by evil type thing." I said, just wanting to be able to have fun like a normal teenager and not worry.

"Yeah, but what ARE we going to do then?" Aphrodite asked

Erik put his arm around my shoulders, and something about it felt really wrong. I smiled guiltily at Stark, who just grinned back. I knew i was gonna have to break up with him soon, everything just felt so awkward.

"Well, we could chat a bit. You know, just like we used to before all this stuff with Kalona and Neferet happened." I suggested

"Who wants popcorn?" Stevie Rae asked

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Stark shouted, and threw himself at the popcorn. He spilled it everywhere, and everyone started laughing.

I was glad he'd been accepted by the rest of my friends, cos it would have been really weird if i was friends with him but the others hated him. I persuaded them that Stevie Rae also lost a grip on her humanity, and we saved her and she's and amazing friend.

"Can i have some of that, Stark?" Erin asked

"I want some too, twin!" Shaunee said

"Sure. But this halfs mine." Stark replied, and grinned. What a pig.

We all just ate popcorn for a while, with Aphrodite leaning on Darius, Shaunee and Erin whispering to each other, Damien and Jack being... well... gay. And then Erik talking to me from one side, an Stark the other. Oh god, this was so complicated.

"What do you think happened to TJ and Cole?" Shaunee asked

"Those boys are so fiiiiiiiiine. I'll kill any fucking Raven Mocker that comes near them!" Erin said

"Hell yeah twin!" Shaunee said

"I thought we were going to stop talking about what's going on at school with Neferet and Kalona and stuff!" I said, exasperated.

"Well, it's kinda the only thing we can talk about at the moment." Aphrodite said

"Stevie Rae, you said there were tunnels under all the building in the older city, right?" Jack said

"Yeah, i guess." She replied

"Well... the House of Night has been there for ages. It just wasn't known as the House of Night then." Jack said, and i figured out what he was saying

"Wait... you think there might be a tunnel to the school?" I asked

"Well, i mean, im not certain but there could be." Stevie Rae said

"I think we should go and have a little look then." I said

"I'll come with you!" Erik offered. Crap. I really didn't want to go into those dark tunnels, especially not with him!

"Let's go then!" i said, with a little nervous laugh.

**Please tell me any ideas you have for what should happen later on in the story. Please review!!!! I 3 you all for reading : ) **


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Wait... which way are we gonna go? I still can't really find my way around these tunnels." I said

"Erm... i think we're meant to go this way, but im not really sure." He replied, and then there was a really awkward silence. I hate awkward silences.

"You know, gay babies are born when there's an awkward silence." I said, and he laughed. That always works to get people talking again.

"Poor Damien and Jack. Ah... the product of an awkward silence." He said

Ok, that was taking it too far. Damien and Jack were our friends and that was meant to be a joke, not an insult. He was annoying me more and more now. Every day he was more annoying and mean, and less of the sweet guy he used to be. Better change the subject.

"Wow. This Gerarty girl is a really good artist!" I said, as we walked past one of the walls she had painted, full of swirls and intricate patterns in red and purple. It made a big difference to the dark damp tunnels.

"Who's Gerarty again?" he asked

"You're meant to know the names of the red fledglings! You're living with them for god's sake!" I said, annoyed with him again.

"Calm down! But yeah, she really is a good artist. Rich people would pay a lot of money to have this kind of thing in their houses." He replied

"I hate these tunnels. It's fine when we're in our bit and it has furniture and the walls are painted, but it's so dark and gloomy for the rest of it." I said

"I know, it's kinda depressing, isn't it?" he said

"Hmmm. Maybe we should help Gerarty with doing these tunnels some time. It would really brighten it up." I said, but it was more like thinking out loud really.

"Yeah...." he said, and it was silent. But not an awkward silence again.

We walked further through the tunnels, their dingeyness getting to me. Even as a fledgling i could see in the dark pretty well, but it was a different kind of darkness. An evil kind.

We came to a dead end and turned around again.

Then i saw the eyes. They were rust red, and staring at me through the darkness. I jumped up in fright and screamed. But i recognised that colour from somewhere...

"What is it!" Erik asked, immediately on guard.

I turned round again, and the eyes were gone. All that was left was a patch of darkness. Again, the darkness didn't feel right.

"I saw a pair of eyes, staring at me." I said

He looked really worried, but then said "Come on, we'd better get going." And we walked further

I was still really scared, but i followed Erik through the twists and turns of the tunnels anyway.

We walked for about ten more minutes.

"I think we're under the school now." He said

"Yes! That means that Jack was right!" i said, happy that we had a better way to get back into the school.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean there's an exit." He pointed out

"Oh... yeah. Good point." I replied

"We have to look around this whole area to see if there's any kind of way to get up to the surface." He ordered, and we went looking round the tunnels again. After a while, i thought it looked like the tunnels were getting lighter...

"Seriously, i think it's getting lighter now" i said

"You could be right..." he said, and we walked around a little longer.

"Look! There! Stairs to the surface!" i said, and we sprinted up them.

We came to a grate, and Erik pushed it up and over so we could get out.

We walked out, and we were standing next to the trapdoor at the East Wall.

"Hmmm. I wonder why it's here..." he said

"Well, the trapdoor's here, so maybe whoever built the tunnels was a vampire and knew that we needed to get out sometimes?" I suggested

"I guess..." he trailed off, thinking about it

"Well, everyone knows the East Wall is the most powerful place on campus." I said

"Yeah, that's true. Maybe we should get back into the tunnels and go back again." He suggested.

"Sounds like a good plan." Replied, and we both climbed back down into the gloominess of the tunnels. He pulled the grate back over, and we went back down the stairs.

"Wait... how are we gonna remember how we got here?" I said

"As well as knowing a lot, adult vamps like me also have a really good memory." He informed me, and i trusted him to remember.

We walked a bit longer, when i saw eyes again. These were a deep rust red, like old blood. And then i remembered where i had seen eyes that colour. Whenever the red fledglings, and even Stevie Rae drank from living humans, their eyes turned that exact colour. And then i got really angry at Stevie Rae. She was hiding something really important. I guess i would ask her about it later...

"Shit! Those red eyes again!" I shouted, and Erik went stiff.

"Where?" He asked, the strain apparent in his voice.

"They're gone now. Again. But i swear, they were there." I said

We walked on warily, and then i longed for some conversation. I heard nothing but the sound of our footsteps, and the silence scared me. He put his arm around my waist, and i felt really uncomfortable.

We had walked quite far back to our part of the tunnels, we only had a few minutes to walk until we reached our rooms and our base – type – thing.

"I'm so glad we have Stark. I mean, it's always good to have an extra warrior." I said, and then he gave me this look. It really freaked me out.

"Ok, stop thinking about him. I see the way he looks at you, and i really don't like it. Don't talk to him any more." He ordered.

I immediately slapped his hand away from my waist. That made me really angry.

"Ok, YOU can't tell me who i should and shouldn't speak to. That's what I decide. NOT YOU!" i shouted at him.

"Wow, calm down Zoey!" he said, looking amused

"Seriously, you have to cut it out with all this jealous shit!" i shouted.

"I'm not doing anything! It's just that maybe you should, i dunno, NOT stare at other guys while we're meant to be going out!" he shouted back

"You know what, that's it. I'm so sick of this! I knew it would never work between us after what happened after Loren and Heath and stuff." I shouted.

"Oh, so now you're breaking up with me?!" he shouted sarcastically

"YES! I'm so sick of all the shit you're feeding me!" I shouted.

"Well, maybe that's for the best you little slut." He shouted after me as i ran back to my room through the last bit of the tunnels, and soon came to the bit that was painted bright green, which signified that i was almost at our room.

Stevie Rae was in there, reading a book called "The Scarlet Letter." I remembered that, from when i was in Erik's drama class and she said he was gonna make me wear a big A on my clothes or something like that...

I ran into the room and flopped down on the bed angrily.

"Whats wrong, Zoey?" She asked quietly

"Erik, stupid little bastard that he is." I said angrily

"What happened?" She asked, stroking my hair to try and calm me down.

"Well, he went all jealous and possessive on me and we had a giant argument and i broke up with him." I said

"Ohmygood_ness_!" she shouted in surprise at what i had just told her.

"I know. But he was being such a BASTARD!" i shouted in anger

"Ok, calm down now Zoey. It doesn't matter, he had it coming." She said softly, and she let the smells of and orchard waft around me and i calmed down almost instantly.

"Sorry. i just needed to let it out." I said apologetically.

"Ok, we need to go back to the living room now." She said, and we walked the short distance to the entrance of the room we spent most of our time in, where everyone was sitting on the floor chatting. They all looked up at me as i came in, and stared at me with my tear – stained face and Stevie Rae standing behind me.

As soon as i came in, Erik stormed off, probably to his room.

"Wow! What happened there?" Stark asked

"Guess." I said

"NO!" Shaunee shouted

"You BROKE UP with him!" Erin finished for her, and everyone looked shocked. Except Aphrodite.

"Doesn't surprise me much, really." Aphrodite said

"Errrrmmm.... What?!" Erin said

"why the hell would you break up with HIM?!" Shaunee shouted

"He's so GORGEOUS!" Erin said, and they grinned at each other knowingly.

"Well, that's true. But he's also a jealous possessive bastard. You did well to dump him, Zoey." Aphrodite said

"You're only saying that" Shaunee said

"Cos he dumped you." Erin finished for her

"Actually that's not true. She dumped him." I said

Everybody looked at her like she was a complete idiot.

"Yes, that's right. And i dumped him for exactly the same reason." Aphrodite said smugly

"Wow. You guys are seriously weird." Erin said

"I totally agree with you there, twin." Shaunee said

"Well, i'm going back to my room to sleep." I announced, and i saw everybody whispering to each other.

I walked out and as soon as i was gone everybody started talking, no doubt about how strange i am to dump Erik. Truth is, i didn't really miss him. I was actually glad that i didn't have to deal with his shit any more.

I heard someones footsteps behind me as i walked to my room, and i turned round in the tunnel to find Stark standing behind me.

"Is it really true? Did you really break up with him?" He asked

"Yeah. I did." I said, and i saw joy spread all over his face. Then his face went normal again and he said

"Oh. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you." He said, completely serious. He was such a gentleman, and i loved him for it.

"Really, it doesn't matter. I'm glad that i'm not with him anymore." I said

"Really? Why?" he asked, looking suspiciously at me

"Cos he was a bastard." I said

"Oh. Sorry." He replied. Ah, he looked gorgeous. Even in this weird darkness of the tunnels.

"It's nothing you should be sorry for." I said. Jesus, his tattoo was amazing really. Those two arrows, with the beautiful intricate patterns in them...

And he leaned forward, and kissed me. It was amazing. I leaned back against the wall, and he put his arms around my waist and kissed me really hard.

And what surprised me was that next, i put my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

He slowly drew his tongue over my lips and i opened my mouth. I kissed him desperately, like a drowning person gasping for air. I was completely lost in him, when i heard something at the end of the tunnel. Stark obviously heard nothing and while we were still kissing i opened my eyes slowly, and saw Erik looking at me.

He looked really really sad. And then slowly Erik turned and walked away.

Oh god. I loved being with Stark. He was perfect for me. But still, i really hadn't meant to hurt Erik. Even though we weren't meant to be a couple, i still wanted him as a friend! I mean, he was caring and sweet and the perfect friend...

Shit. Why does everything always have to be so complicated!

**I know a lot of you wanted Zoey to be with Stark, so there it is! I really don't know what to do with her and Erik now, though. Ideas, anyone? And please hit the magic button below and REVIEW! **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

**Ok sorry it took a while for an update but here it is : ) **

"Wake up, Zoey." Stevie Rae said quietly

"I don't want to." I said, and groaned. Why did we have to get up this early? It wasn't even dark yet.

"Well, you have to or you wont get your stuff back from the House of Night campus." She said.

Ugh. Id forgotten all about the plan we made last night to get up really early and get all our stuff back.

"No." I groaned, and refused to get out.

"If you don't, i'll pour a bucket of water on you." She threatened

"You're way too nice to do that." I argued

"No, i'm not." She said stubbornly, and walked to the bathroom.

Oh god. She was actually going to throw water on me. I got up almost straight away.

She walked back in, with a glass full of water in her hand.

"Wait wait wait im already up!" i said hurriedly, and she put the glass down.

"Good. Get dressed quickly cos we need to be in the living room in five minutes to go." She ordered

"Yes, mum." I joked. She was very controlling sometimes.

I got dressed as quickly as i could, and hurried to the living room. The tunnels were dark and gloomy as ever.

When i finally arrived, everyone was already waiting.

"Oh... um... hey guys!" I said, embarrassed that everyone was waiting for me.

Stark patted the seat next to him, but i walked over to sit next to Stevie Rae at the other end of the room. He looked hurt.

"I think we should all get to our rooms and get all the stuff that we want for our rooms in the tunnels, as it looks like were going to be living down here for quite a while." I said, as i desperately wanted to change into a new jeans and a different top. I'd worn the same things for about three days now.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Shaunee said, and everyone agreed.

"I guess we should also see if there's anything in the library on Kalona or the Tsi Sgili." Damien said, and i realized we probably should. The more we knew, the easier they would be to defeat.

I noticed that Erik was giving me the evils from across the room.

"Well, i think we should go then." Jack said, and we all got up and went into the tunnels, me and Erik in the lead.

"I can't really remember the way that much. Maybe you should lead." I suggested to Erik. He said nothing.

"Erik?" I said after a while when he didn't answer. Still no answer.

There was really no reason why he should ignore me. I know i broke up with him, but it was really his own fault for being a protective jerk.

"Erik!" I said, exasperated.

"What!" he snapped. Jesus Christ, this was going a bit too far.

"Calm down, Erik. She's trying to be nice you know." Aphrodite said from behind me. She was starting to show her nice side a lot more.

"None of your business, bitch." He snapped. That was taking it way too far.

"Ok, that is seriously out of line." I said angrily

"Shut up." He shouted angrily. Well, if he was going to be like that then there was no reason in even trying to be nice.

"Ok, i think it's just around this corner." Erik said to everyone

"Well, let's go then." I said uncertainly. I had no idea what the school was going to be like now, after another few days under Kalona and Neferet. They were much more powerful now.

**Sorry that was really short but i haven't had much time lately. Please review and tell me anything that you think should happen or what you think so far : )**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

**Sorry i haven't been ablw to write much lately, but heres the new update!**

We walked round the corner, and Erik was right. The manhole was right there. Stark was by my side guarding me as my warrior, as always. HIs solid warmth was comfortable standing next to me.

"Uhm... you seriously want me to climb through that dirty thing?!" Aphrodite asked. She was right, it was filthy. I didn't want to climb through it anymore either...

"If you want to wear clean" – said Erin

"Clothes, then yes." – Shaunee finished for her.

"Good point. Well, through the disgusting manhole we go..." Aphrodite said, annoyed.

We climbed through the manhole and up into the street, first checking out to make sure no – one was looking.

We stepped into the street, and looked at the carnage Kalona had created. There was even more ice everywhere, and there were scary black Raven Mockers everywhere, there human eyes following us everywhere. One of them flew off with a loud squawk, no doubt to tell Kalona that we were back. It looked strangely beautiful in the setting sun.

"Wow! It's exactly outside the trapdoor for the east wall!" Stevie Rae exclaimed, looking at the trapdoor covered in more ice. She looked really tired, no doubt because the sun was still slightly up.

"Didn't we already tell you that!" I said

"Well, yeah." Stevie Rae replied

Erin started to push against the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Hey twin, will ya help me out with opening the trapdoor?" Erin asked Shaunee

"Sure thing, twin!" Shaunee said, and also began to shove the door.

It still wouldn't open.

"Need some help there, ladies?" Stark asked, and left my side to help.

They pushed as hard as they could, and it flew open with a loud crack from the ice and they fell through the trapdoor, and landed in a heap on the other side.

"Its open!" Said Stark cheerily, and we all laughed.

"Well i say we all go back to our rooms and get all the stuff we need, and think about the fact that were going to be staying down there for a pretty long time." I said, and everyone agreed.

"Ok lets say we meet back here in about fifteen, twenty minutes?" I suggested, and we all dispersed to go back to our rooms. I walked over with Shaunee, Erin, and of course Stark.

As we looked around us, we realized that almost nobody was out. The school looked scary and haunted covered in ice, with raven mockers in all the trees and perching on balconies and lined along the edge of the roof. I thought about how it slightly resembles a ghost house.

"It looks more than slightly like a ghost house, actually." Stark said, as if in reply to my thoughts.

"Let's get to our rooms. Quick." I said, and we picked up our pace, looking around nervously.

"No need to worry, darling. Its fine with me to protect you." Stark said, and leaned over to give me a quick kiss.

We reached the girls common room.

"Ok, im gonna have to leave you here Zoey." Stark said, and we walked in.

All the girls were there. The disturbing thing was, it was completely silent. Nobody was watching movies, or chatting, or doing anything. They were all sitting alone and staring into space, like their brains were empty. Kalona had obviously gotten much more powerful with Venus as his A-ya, and Neferet must have gotten more powerful as well.

"Lets get our things as quickly as possible." I said, scared of being alone with these empty people.

I ran as fast as possible to my room, and saw Nala sitting quietly on my bed. She must have followed us. I opened up a big bag i brought and emptied my closet into it. I picked Nala up, and ran to Erin and Shaunee's room. I thought about how weird it was that Stark had somehow known what i was thinking. I knocked on the door, and burst straight into their room.

"Hey Zoey!"Shaunee said

"Ok seriously, it's getting scary how powerful Kalona has gotten now that he has A-ya." I said

"I know! It's just not right how all those people were just sitting there staring into nothing! Its like their heads are completely empty!" Erin said

"You get everything packed, twin?" Shaunee asked

"Almost." Erin replied, and threw a last pile of clothes into a giant tote she brought.

"Yup, im ready. Shall we go?" Erin asked

"Yes please. I really want to get out of this place." I said

We walked quickly through the common room staggering under the weight of our full bags.

We saw Stark just outside the doors, and he offered to carry my heavy bag.

We practically sprinted to the trapdoor where everyone was waiting except Stevie Rae. I didn't know where she'd gone, cos she didn't have any clothes to pick up.

We waited for about five minutes, when she came running towards us, a look of panic across her face.

"Stevie Rae, whats wrong?" I asked

"Come quickly. Leave your bags here." Stevie Rae said, and started running. We followed her, and she ran in the direction of the courtyard and Nyx's temple.

When we arrived at Nyx's temple, everyone gasped in shock. Stark stiffened by my side.

Someone had burnt it down.

"I bet you it was Neferet. I bet you ANYTHING Neferet burnt down the temple." Damien said, a look of disgust across his face.

"That's just going too far." Jack agreed

"Well, i think we'd better go back before we get caught by her. Who knows, she might burn us as well." I said, and we all ran back to our bags.

We crept through the trapdoor, and then back into the tunnels.

We started walking again, and i quickly got lost again. Thank god Erik was leading the way. I leaned against the comfortable warmth of Stark's chest.

"Want me to take that bag for you?" He asked

"Yeah thanks!" I said, as i handed the bag over to him. I thought it was really heavy, but he carried it with ease.

We walked back the rest of the way chatting light-heartedly, trying not to think about how empty everything was in our school.

Every time we heard a noise, Stark automatically stiffened and drew out his bow. I had to calm him down each time, and assure him that nothing was wrong. He was almost obsessed with protecting me. I thought it was quite sweet.

We reached the living room, and everyone dispersed into their new rooms to sort out all their stuff.

**I hope you liked that :) please tell me any thoughts you had about this chapter, good or bad. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

**Sorry its such a short one, but heres the new chapter. **

_I walk into a long room, mirrors covering every inch of space on the wall. There are little ones, big ones, broken ones, whole ones, every type of mirror known to man. I can see my reflection a billion times over, broken to pieces in the shattered mirrors. _

_Someone else walks in to the room, from an unseen door. She wears a long black dress. She has long auburn hair, and moss green eyes. Behind her walks a black raven with human eyes and legs and arms. I see her reflection everywhere, surrounding me, so much that i don't know which is real, and which is just a reflection._

_A voice from behind me says_

"_Zoey, you must come back to the house of night." Silky smooth and seductive_

_I stand completely still, getting quite scared now._

_Another voice speaks_

"_Our father wants you." In a hoarse voice, rough like sandpaper, coming from the right._

_I looked around in panic, seeing all the reflections but i still had no idea where they really were._

"_Zoey. Will you come back?" the womans voice asks from further away, across the room. _

"_No." I just manage to spit out, my throat completely dry from fear._

"_Zoey. Please. You must come back." She says again, this time from right beside my ear._

_I jump in fright, moving slowly backwards. I see her reflections move, but i have no idea where she is._

"_No, i won't." I say, my voice shuddering in fear._

"_Zoey, i don't want to hurt your family or friends, but if you won't come back on your own will, then i'll have to force you to come." She says, her voice now harder._

"_You won't hurt my family or friends. I'll make sure of it." My voice more confident now._

"_But Zoey, you'll never be able to guard everyone at once." She says, her voice soft and sweet._

"_You wont hurt them." I say, strong and confident._

"_If you don't come to the house of night soon, i will." Her voice now mush harder_

"_And it'll be YOUR fault." She snarls, from right in front of me. I can see her real face, caught up in an evil smile with her eyes so full of hatred its unbearable. She steps forward, and i scream._

I sat up sweating in my bed, Stevie Rae snoring quietly next to me.

I walked to the kitchen, where i saw Aphrodite sitting with a cup of coffee.

"Hey, Zoey." Aphrodite said

"Hey." I said sleepily

"So... how come youre up this late?" Aphrodite asked

"Neferet. She got into my dreams again." I said wearily.

"Poor you." Aphrodite said

"What did she say?" Aphrodite asked

"Well, she told me to come back to the house of night, or she'd hurt someone. Friends or family, she said." I explained, and a look of concern showed up on her face.

"Oh god." Aphrodite said, shocked

"I know. But i just don't know what to do about it!" I said "I mean, i can't look after everyone at once, so i just don't know what i should do."

"You should tell your grandma." Aphrodite said, and she was right.

"Good idea." I replied, and walked back down the tunnels to my grandmas room.

**Please review, and give me any ideas you have for the next chapters!**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"Wow, thats really scary. Id never have got through that without fainting or something." Stevie Rae said

"Really, it wasn't that bad. I just don't want anyone to get hurt." I said, thinking about how awful id feel if someone got hurt because of me...

"Come here." Stark said, and pulled me into a sweet comforting hug.

"Really, im fine." I lied

Shaunee and Erin walked in, which left just a few other people before we could have some breakfast.

"I really think these tunnels" – Shaunee started

"Are way too gloomy." Erin finished

"You're right." Damien said

"This Gerarty girl's done a pretty good job on some of the tunnels, but theyre quite far away and its still disgusting down here." Jack said, leaning against his boyfriend. They were just too cute sometimes...

Gerarty and one of the other red fledglings walked in just as jack was talking about her.

"Well, it's not easy doing it all alone. Drawing the patterns is fairly quick, but painting it all takes a really long time." Gerarty said

"If you want we could help you!" I offered, wanting something to take my mind off the scary dream.

"Yeah it sounds really fun!" Stevie Rae agreed

"We could definitely help you..." Shaunee offered, and Erin nodded in agreement.

Soon after everyone (except Erik) had decided that they were going to help Gerarty with decorating our living space, as everyone seemed to be sick of the gloomy darkness of the hallways.

We ate breakfast as quickly as we could so we could get started as soon as possible.

"Grandma, we're going into town to get some paint and other things so we can get the tunnels nicer as quick as possible." I said, and we all climbed up the tunnels til we got to the surface.

"Wow. This is really scary." One of the red fledglings said, as she saw the iced – over version of Tulsa for the first time since we escaped from Kalona.

It was, actually. It was so different from the Tulsa i knew, with ice covering every surface and raven mockers in all the trees, watching us all the time.

"Well, i think we should go as fast as possible." Aphrodite said, looking around nervously and wrapping her coat tighter against the cold.

We practically sprinted for five minutes to the closest store, which was a few blocks down.

As soon as we were in the store, everyone relaxed.

'Good morning. Is there anything i can help you with?' The saleswoman asked politely

'Uhhh yeah we need a lot of paint.' Stevie Rae said

'Well, the paint section's over here. Its three dollars for one can, and twenty – five when you but ten of any colour.' The saleswoman said, and she walked away so we could pick our paints.

We walked along the rows of shelves and we picked random colours off the shelves, with exclamations of

'Wow, this would look great in my room'

'Oh thats such a pretty blue!'

'Look at this one i want this outside my room'

Eventually we had about fifty big cans of paint, and we went to the till to pay.

'Excuse me, but if i can ask what are you painting that needs so much random paints?' The cashier asked as she saw us struggling under about five cans of paint each.

'None of you business' Aphrodite snapped with an award – winning bitch hair flick.

'Okay...' the cashier mumbled under her breath, and set to work scanning all the cans.

'Would you like bags for these?' she asked when she'd finally finished scanning them all after about fifteen minutes.

'Yeah that would be great.' Damien replied, with a seriously cute gay smile.

We walked out of the store struggling under the cans of paint and walked back as fast as we could. We made it back to the living room in under ten minutes.

'Okay everyone, we have tonnes of paint. Gerarty's gonna draw stencils for in the main tunnels, but everyone is allowed to paint their room and the hallway leading to their room themselves or with the person they share their room with. Everyone get your partners and paint, and then go.' I ordered. I found Shaunee and Erin quickly so we could paint the halls leading to our rooms that almost no – one else used.

'So i think we should have some hot pinks, turquoise blues and purples in there, with maybe some flowery pattern or something.' Shaunee suggested, and of course Erin ageed.

'Well i think that would be good but we need some black in there symbolising night as well, and maybe some patterns to do with our elements.' I suggested, and they thought that was a good idea.

We walked slowly to our halls, and took pencils to start drawing out the patterns. We were all in silence as we concentrated out hardest to make the patterns as intricate and beautiful as Gerarty's but we came nowhere close.

'Well, i think this will have to do.' I said as we had finished the hall after about 45 minutes.

'Yep, let's get to work.' Erin said, and took a brush. We followed, and picked up brushes and got to work. As soon as there was paint on the rushes, we erupted in to chatter and talked about loads of random stuff like movies, past boyfriends, and the new cinema that was opening nearby while we painted.

'Hey Zo, I seriously think you should go on a proper date with Stark.' Shaunee said

'Yeah definitely, just because Kalona's fucked a load of stuff up here it doesn't mean you can't have a first date with your new boyfriend, right?' Erin agreed. They smiled at each other, and i knew that all the talk about movies and dates had been in preparation for this.

'Yeah sure that would be great. I think we seriously need a break to empty our minds of all this poopie with Kalona and stuff.' I said.

They shot looks at each other.

'Poopie?' they said together, and i rolled my eyes at them.

'Come on, you know i don't swear.' I said, and we kept painting.

**Sorry for taking such a long time to update, but there's your new chapter. Please please review! **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

We had all finally finished painting the tunnels after a few days, and installed the lights that Aphrodite had bought. Everything looked much nicer and friendlier now it was brighter, but i still couldn't chase away the feeling that there was something... else there.

We walked back to the living room after we had finished, where everyone was waiting. We were obviously the last ones to finish.

The living room's walls had transformed from a boring grey to a type of shrine to Nyx. One of the walls had a giant painting of Nyx, and the others had swirling patterns of black, dark purple, dark blue, and a shimmery sliver. The floor had five spots, where we would stand when casting a circle as the living room was where we had decided to hold our rituals as we were probably gonna be living here for over a month. The spots had patterns around it in the colour of the element, with something to do with the element like waves or flowers. I had to admit that Gerarty was an amazing artist.

'Hey guys' i said to Stevie Rae, the twins and Stark. 'Ready to go?' i asked

'Sure' Stark said, and came over to hold my hand. We walked out, and the others followed.

'So which movie u wanna see?' I asked Stark

'The new saw movie!' Stevie Rae replied, even though the question wasn't for her.

'Darling, if you remember it's not you who's going on this date!' I said 'Youre gonna sit in the front row when we sit in the back, and you won't disturb us.' I said, and she made a face. It's her own fault for wanting to come with me on my date so much.

'Can we the new saw actually? Ive been wanting to see it for ages.' Stark said, and i sighed. I hated scary movies.

'Yeah sure, whatever.' I said to no one in particular.

We finally made it to one of the only cinemas that showed at night, and ordered tickets. Stevie Rae and the twins were gonna sit in one of the middle rows, and me and Stark got back row tickets.

I walked into the room and checked there was no – one i knew from my human life, and when i was sure i settled into my seat next to Stark.

We watched through about half an hour of ads, when the screen widened and the opening titles began to roll. I felt a sick feeling in my stomach as i knew that i could stand gory movies, and would probably end up running our puking or something. People had said that these were some of the scariest movies ever.

The film finally started playing, and i was disgusted. I hated it, and i felt sicker than i had ever been in my life. I buried my face into Starks chest to i wouldn't see, but i could still hear the agonised screams of the people being killed in all kinds of nasty ways.

I thought i might get a good kiss out of our first date, but instead i spent a whole two hours shaking in fear. The only thing that stopped me from puking was the fact that Stark was there, keeping me safe. I liked being held against his warm chest, and refused to cry.

When the movie finally finished, i took a few shaky breaths and walked down to find Stevie Rae, Erin and Shaunee. We walked out together and were halfway out of the cinema, when i heard a familiar voice shout

'ZOEY!'

I turned round and running towards me was Heath.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

'Zoey.' Heath said when he finally reached me. 'I knew it. I felt you here.' I was shocked. Imprinted ex-boyfriend worries were the last thing i needed, especially in front of Stark. Shit, after this Stark would probably never talk to me again.

'Uhhh...' was the only thing my genius brain could come up with.

'Zoey, i missed you so much. After you went back to the House of Night campus i stayed in my basement to make sure my mom and dad were safe, but i missed you. You were the only thing i was really thinking about.' Heath said, declaring his love for me in front of my boyfriend who was probably gonna dump me now.

'Thank god youre safe. Are your parents ok as well?' I asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

'Yeah, theyre fine. But youre the one i really want to know about.' He said. Well, that obviously didn't work.

'I'm fine. Everythings fine. But i really need to get back to the tunnels, im feeling a bit weak after being away from any adult vampires for so long.' I said, trying to get away as fast as possible.

'Oh, okay.' Heath sounded hurt.

I started walking away, feeling really bad about leaving him there like that and being so mean, but i didn't want to risk what i had with Stark.

'Wait... who's that guy with you?' Heath shouted after me. Shit.

I didn't know what to say. 'Uh... this uh... this is....'

'Im James Stark. Everyone calls me Stark.' He said. Heath stared at him without saying anything.

'Stark is my uhhh.......' I didn't know how to tell him. He'd be heartbroken.

'Boyfriend.' Stark finished for me. Heath's mouth flopped open, and he still didn't say anything. He looked so hurt.

'Look, Heath. Im sorry if this hurts you, but you know that i can't be with a human. It's right for me to be with a vampire.' I said, feeling so guilty.

'But... what about our imprint?' He said sadly.

'You know that i can't really be with you. All you can ever be is my friend and consort. And you're the best friend i could ever hope for, but im a vampire and youre a human. We can't be together. Im sorry.' I said feeling so guilty. He looked so sad...

'But Zoey, i've loved you since grade school! You know were meant to be together!' He said, looking like he totally believed what he was saying

'I know. But were not in grade school any more. Im a vampire fledgling.' I said, trying to make him understand.

'But... i love you Zoey.' He said, trying to make me understand.

'I know. I love you too, but in a different way. Its better for both of us if we're just friends.' I said, and hugged him. He still stood there speechless, and we walked away. I felt so guilty, but at least i had dealt with it for good this time.

Stark hugged me, and said 'Zoey, its okay. I know you care about him alot, but he'll be fine. Stop crying now, you'll both be okay.' I hadn't even realized i was crying, i felt so shocked by the fact that it was finally over between us. I felt even worse about Stark, he was so understanding.

'Stark, if you want to dump me cos of that, its fine. I understand.' I said sadly.

'Dont be stupid. I wouldn't dump you, i know he's been your friend since you were little. Its fine, don't worry.' He said. I felt really guilty.

'But you know i still love him. I always will.' I said

'I know. And that's fine with me, because dating the most powerful fledgling in vampire history means there's not just gonna be one guy. I'm fine with that.' He said, and i knew i really didn't deserve him.

'Thanks so much. You're really great, Stark.' I said, and we walked back to the tunnels together.

Thanks for reading, and as always please review!


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